Hulk Hogan, born Terry Gene Bollea in Augusta, Georgia, on 11 August 1953, died on 24 July 2025 following a cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida. He was 71. Local police reported no signs of foul play. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) confirmed his death in a statement describing him as “one of pop culture’s most recognisable figures.”
Hogan grew up in Tampa and played bass guitar in local bands before training as a wrestler in 1977. He began his career in the American Wrestling Association, but his breakthrough came after a cameo as Thunderlips in Rocky III (1982), which led to a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in late 1983. Within weeks he had defeated the Iron Sheik to win his first world title, launching what became known as “Hulkamania” — a red-and-yellow marketing juggernaut built around his exaggerated physique, all-American image, and booming exhortations to “say your prayers and eat your vitamins.”
Between 1985 and 1992, Hogan headlined eight editions of WrestleMania and won the WWF (later WWE) championship six times. His most famous bout — against André the Giant at WrestleMania III in 1987 — drew over 93,000 fans to the Pontiac Silverdome and remains one of the most iconic moments in wrestling history. Hogan’s charisma and marketability helped Vince McMahon expand professional wrestling from a regional curiosity into a global, pay-per-view industry. He became the first wrestler to host Saturday Night Live and to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
In 1994 Hogan left WWF for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he reinvented himself as the villainous “Hollywood” Hogan. In 1996 he co-founded the New World Order (nWo) with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, a move that revitalised wrestling and sparked the high-stakes Monday-night ratings war of the late 1990s. He won six WCW world titles before returning to WWE in 2002 for a final, nostalgia-driven title run.
Outside the ring, Hogan appeared in a string of films and television series, including Suburban Commando, Mr Nanny, and the reality show Hogan Knows Best. In later years, he became an outspoken supporter of conservative politics and was cheered at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
His career, however, was not without controversy. In 2015, a leaked recording in which he used racial slurs prompted WWE to sever ties and expunge his Hall of Fame status. He was reinstated in 2020. The following year he won a landmark lawsuit against Gawker over a sex tape, a case that led to the site’s bankruptcy and reshaped US privacy law.
Chronic back injuries curtailed his in-ring activity after 2012, but Hogan remained a presence in the wrestling world. In April 2025, he was announced as the inaugural commissioner of Real American Freestyle, a start-up promotion aiming to revive old-school wrestling values. His death prompted tributes from fellow wrestlers, politicians and celebrities, many calling him “the Babe Ruth of professional wrestling.” Hulk Hogan’s mix of spectacle, athletic charisma and star power made him the sport’s first global icon. Despite personal scandals, his impact on wrestling and popular culture was — and remains — immense.
